NGOs open conference to support Lebanon re-construction

A conference of non governmental organizations (NGOs) to support reconstruction of southern Lebanon opens in Beirut this Thursday under the patronage of Lebanese Premier Salim Al-Hoss

Sponsored by the Italian government and the UN Development Program, the encounter is meant to coordinate action by governments and NGOS in support of the Lebanese fifth development plan to build the southern region after 22 years of Israeli occupation.

200 participants, including 80 international and 70 Lebanese NGOS are taking part in the conference together with representatives from donor states, international organizations, UN institutions and governmental bodies.

Prime minister, Salim Al-Hoss, regretted the postponement of a UN-sponsored donor-countries conference slated for mid-October, and stressed that the work of NGOs alone cannot meet the needs of southern Lebanon population.

In a meeting held last July by ambassadors of 38 countries and delegates of 10 international financial institutions, Hoss had estimated urgent needs of the former occupied zone at $ 1.3 billion.